130 [Belarus] - Death of a Prodigy

Oz looked down at his right hand in glee. His gamble had paid off. As far as he was aware Animagus transformation couldn't do something like this, the only similar instance would be what Tonks could do as a Metamorphmagus however even that wasn't on the same level as this. This dragon claw was his hand, something he had perfect control over unlike something developed through magic.

If it was before Oz went to Romania, this trick would be impossible to duplicate. With the disharmony between himself and his blood before meeting Arauthator, his blood would not have listened to him as it did in this instance allowing him to only transform a part of his body. Even with his blood now listening to him, keeping up this single claw was sapping a ton of energy out of Oz. However...

'It's manageable'.

Oz's bloodshot purple eyes looked across at the stunned Golgomath who stop its assault. Meanwhile in the crowd every giant that had gathered to watch this fight couldn't fathom what had just happened. They felt a fearful aura from Oz and that aura was centered around Oz's new claw. It was an aura of something at the top of the food chain, a dominating presence. Golgomath seemed to grow angry at his own fear as he yelled out.

("LITTLE WIZARD, THE RULES STATED NO MAGIC")

As this comment was yelled out by Golgomath all the surrounding giants seemed to start clamouring as well. To them, it seemed as though Oz used some kind of magic for this to happen and the rules stated before the bout was for there to be no use of magic. Looking up at Ifum, Oz saw a conflicted gaze in her eyes as she then called out.

("Speak Oz, is that claw magic?").

Alfreda called out to Oz a translation as he looked up at Ifum. He already knew what she was saying to some extent.

"This isn't magic. This is my own power. You felt that aura I gave off right? It was completely different to magic in every way. This is an ability that comes from my own blood".

Alfreda translated for everyone what Oz said and they all stared at Oz with complicated expressions. Compared to the magic wizards usually used Oz's application was indeed incredibly different and they couldn't deny that when his hand transformed the aura it gave off was nothing like normal magic. As a matter of fact it was more 'beast-like' than magical. Ifum seemed to dwell on the matter for a while before declaring...

("What Oz says has substance to it Golgomath. I've seen those little wizards use magic a lot in my life but that was certainly completely different. From what I can tell, that claw is a 'part' of him as much as our hands are a part of us. Its not produced by magic, its produced by his own ability. His own blood!")

("With that... The fight continues uninterrupted!")

Golgomath seemed to sneer as he looked back at Oz's right 'claw'. He shook his head as he roared out again.

("Those puny tricks wont get you anywhere anyway!").

Golgomath restarted his assault on Oz, charging straight at him. Oz calmed himself down as the giant rushed at a great speed at him. A smile grew on his face as he relished in the situation he was in.

This was a situation he could never have been apart of in Hogwarts. Putting himself on the line, pushing himself to his limits allowed him to be able to pull off this feat that even he before hand would have thought impossible. This was what this journey and year was all about, breaking the limits of his own potential through dire situations. In the birdcage that was Hogwarts Oz would have been limited in his growth however in the entire wizarding world Oz was like a carp that was jumping over the dragon gate. When the jump finished at the end of the year, he would be a dragon that would be feared by everyone.

Golgomath swung his fist down towards Oz at a rapid speed. Seeing the oncoming fist Oz augmented himself with a burst of strength to dodge the attack. As Oz did so, he clawed at Golgomath with his right claw. Unlike before where his punches left only slight marks onto the prodigy giant, this time a gash was left in the giants stomach. It wasn't deep but compared to the other injuries Oz had given to the giant this one stood out.

Oz backed up from Golgomath with a cold smile on his face knowing he could damage this giant now. He had been tossed around by this fucker for too long. Bloodied, beaten and broken by this 'prodigy' giant. He could now flip this fight on its head and turn the tide of battle.

Golgomath looked down at the wound on his stomach with a look of shock which again turned into anger. It seemed as though with this giant whenever it felt an emotion of 'weakness' it transformed that emotion into rage and anger, Suitable for a savage beast like this. Golgomath after seeing its own blood spilling from its stomach roared loudly and charged Oz again. Oz smiled as he charged forwards also.

Clash after clash after clash. The two fought brutally. Unlike previously though with Oz getting constantly beaten this time it seemed as though Golgomath was the one that was getting scarred from each clash. The wounds on the giant grew in number with each clash, more blood pouring out each time.

Ifum who watched from the crowd seemed to clench her fists as she stared at Oz with a glint of hope in her eyes seeing how Oz was actually injuring Golgomath. Golgomath was the 'prodigy' of the tribe. It was fate that eventually her and Golgomath would have brawled and in her heart she knew that Golgomath would have been too much for her. Even though giants relished in battle and some even took honour in death having reached a position like she had just to have it ripped away so soon was something she couldn't bare.

After a few more clashes both Oz and Golgomath stood opposite each other once more, both worse for wear. Oz might look like he had the upper hand after his 'partial-dragonification' but his energy was being sapped incredibly quickly alongside his magic. Oz could probably only go for several more clashes before his hand transformed back and his augmentum wore off. It was a point to be said at this point that Oz's magic capacity was immense in comparison to others at his level. He was still at the peak of the second step, stagnated from breaking through. However despite not being able to get to the third step Oz's magic capacity still seemed to grow and get denser and denser meaning the amount of magic Oz could use was much much more than any other peak second step wizard. Maybe it was a characteristic of those with dragons blood? Oz didn't know at this point.

'The only way to win this is to look for an opening and take it... pour all my magic and energy into one strong attack to kill this damn giant'.

As Golgomath's wounds grew, so did his anger. Oz wouldn't attacking the giant randomly either, his claw marks aimed for areas that were 'weak points' on a giant. In doing this, openings on the giants body were becoming more and more easier to spot. Compared to when Oz was fighting him at the beginning of this fight he was a hundred times sloppier in his movements. An opening was bound to show soon and Oz needed to take it the second it did.

In this split moment of thought Oz looked into the crowd at Alfreda and saw the elfs worried face. He gave a smile towards the elf showing her that he was capable of winning this, that he was confident. Alfreda's face seemed to shift at Oz's smile as she grew calmer. As Oz looked at Alfreda though he also noticed something else.

'Why is she recording this?'.

Alfreda was holding a magi-cast in her hand. Oz had given her one when he finished creating them back in Merlin's hideout telling her to 'capture some memories' with it. He thought she would use it to film scenery or something not this kind of brutal battle. Oz let out a long sigh as his brain refocused back on the battle.

("I WILL KILL YOU LITTLE WIZARD! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA")

Golgomath roared as he charged Oz for the umpteenth time. At this point Oz was getting sick of seeing this giant charge him like this. Regardless of his own thoughts though, Oz still stayed vigilant as he knew better than anyone this giants strength was not to be underestimated. The giant threw its whole body into a punch and as it did so its weight shifted too drastically. Seeing this situation happen Oz's eyes widened knowing it was now or never.

'NOW'.

Oz augmented himself fully with all the magic he could muster within himself. Launching forward Oz's weaved past Golgomath's fist and plunged his claws directly towards Golgomath's chest. In this instance, time seemed to slow. The sounds of the giants clamouring, the cheers and jeers all reduced to silence as they watched this major clash. All that could be heard as the clash finish was the sound of flesh being penetrated.

("UGHHHHH.....").

As the dust settled a scene was shown to the crowd that would be etched into the hearts of every giant in this tribe for generations. Their prodigy, someone they believed to be the most powerful giant in this tribe had lost all colour in his face. Looking down at the little wizard that attacked you could see a claw going directly through the chest of Golgomath and out his back. Looking at Golgomath's back you could see Oz's claw grasping onto the giants still beating heart.

The light in Golgomath's eyes faded as Oz pulled back his clawed hand with the heart still clasped. Golgomath slumped to the floor whilst Oz panted for air deeply. This fight had lasted hours, Oz had accrued multiple injuries, Oz was tossed around constantly however in the end he managed to win. The blood in him was satisfied with the brutal fight as it burned in tangent with his spirit. He held the heart above his head in his claws grip before falling to his knees pale and weak.

The normally loud giants couldn't even muster a sound. Silence filled the arena at the scene presented to them. When they first saw Oz appear and demand a fight with their prodigy they imagine that Oz would get knocked around and eventually die or get crippled yet instead it was the complete opposite. This little wizard they looked down on had actually killed their prodigy in a fair fight.

With the collapse of Oz, Alfreda jumped into the arena and charged over to him. Crouching down she quickly grabbed some first aid materials from her own pouch and started to give them to Oz. Oz still held onto his consciousness as he smiled to Alfreda thanking her. His clawed hand transformed back, losing the scales that were once present. The beating heart of Golgomath however still stayed in his hand, soaking it in blood.

"Put... this in your pouch...".

Alfreda heard her masters weak words on immediately did what was asked. Taking the heart from Oz she put it in a container and placed it within her pouch for safe keeping. Seeing that happen Oz smiled.

Another material had been collected.

After some treatment from Alfreda, Oz was finally able to stand with her support. Picking himself up he looked around at the giants that stared at him in fear and awe. Looking up at Ifum he saw both those emotions alongside a deep gratitude in her eyes. Oz could guess why that gratitude was there to some extent. It took some time for the gurg to collect herself before she finally announced the outcome of the battle.

("The- The little wizard has beaten our prodigy!").

All the giants seemed to wake up from their stupors as they heard their gurg speak. Roars echoed out from all corners of the arena as they cheered for the little wizard that had won.

Oz had won the giants respect.